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Sunday, June 10, 2012

Pretty laundry inspiration

A post about pretty laundry? Is that possible? In my world - YES!
I have a thing for wash on a line. I am not sure what it is but for me watching laundry moving in
the wind is something totally magic.

So who lives here? Who put their panties on the fence to a sheep coral.
Very inventive and charming. Photo from here.

I think of who lives there. Who wears the clothes? What age are they? Babies in the house?
Older couple? A young woman? A bachelor? A mom of six? What is their life like?
What adventures have they been through?

We don't have a dryer. I try to dry my clothes outside as often as I can. Even on a mild winter day if possible. And after a long winter slumber and struggles of drying it inside in the laundry room (takes f o r e v e r!!!) it feels fantastic to be able to go outside and let the wind and the sun do the work in spring time. We have a good 10 meter long clothes line stretched up between poles.
I can easily fit in two machines of laundry there. In summer I can bust out 4-5 machines
of laundry in one day. It is fantastic.

I enjoy doing laundry. I love the sorting, putting it in the washer with some nice smelling softener, often lavender. I find it extremely relaxing to hang my laundry, shaking every piece out from wrinkles,pinning it in place.

Inspired to set up a low clothes line somewhere in the garden to let Emmy Bo
discover the love of hanging laundry with me. Photo from here.

I want to sleep in those bed sheets!!! No source found.

It is hugely satisfying to watch it blowing in the wind, smell the detergent when walking by it, touching it and feel the crispness of laundry that has been natural dried. I love taking it down.
But this is where the love story ends... I don't really like folding laundry or put it away...
This part I still struggle with...

Inspired to just put up my favorite fabric on the line at times, between machines of laundry.
Just because it is pretty! Photo from here.

Yes, laundry is magic to me. And very inspiring. Just look at all colors, patterns, shapes, materials. Lace meeting jeans, checks next to floral, bright versus pastels, whites and multi-colors...

And the pegs. Aren't these the most pretty ones you have ever seen? Love this!
Inspired to make my own shabby chic pegs. Would look absolutely fab on my clothes line.
Photo from here.

Inspired to make laundry bags for all the socks belonging to a family of five.
Or just to hang them next to my washing machine
to look pretty. :D Photo from here.

And make a peg basket, maybe make crochet covers
for some hangers for my dresses to be dried on. Photo form here.

Lovely quilts on the line. No source found.

Love the fact that she is wearing wellingtons. :D
No source found.

Even laundry days are worth some pimping up, aren't they? Laundry, something we all do, all the time. A never ending circle of washing, drying, folding, putting away, wearing and putting into the hamper... Washing, drying, folding, putting away, wearing and putting it into the hamper...
An everyday chore that needs a little more pretty-fying (that is not even a word but you get it, right?). You might have noticed I have left out the ironing part... That is because I don't iron.
If I don't really have to...

And this is my laundry, my pegs and my wash line in my garden...

So how do you fell about laundry. Love it or hate it? Have you pimped up your laundry space or would you like to? I am curious to know... Are you inspired? I certainly am.
I will dream about gorgeous wash on the line tonight... :D

14 comments
:

You know, I don't know when I've enjoyed a post more! Finding beauty and joy among the mundane tasks we do, how happy-making! I love hanging out laundry (except when it's 100 degrees in the Fresno Valley) and love how it feels and smells after drying outside. have never used fabric softeners, they smell like chemicals. However, right now I live in a 3rd floor apartment with the laundry room on the ground floor, so I don't love it so much, lol.

Hi dearMaybe you will find yourself in a place with a clothes line some day. It is a privilege to have a clothes line, that is for sure. Maybe you have a balcony you could use. Or a rack outside a window? Like they do in the Med? I wish you happy laundry days in the future. ♥ Annette ♥

i feel exactly the same about washing..i love it..and like you i love washing hanging on lines..whenever i see it i feel happy..drives into the country are enjoyed even more when i see rustic clothes lines with washing flapping in the breeze..

a book with few words but embellished with washing hanging on lines has been on my mind for years..your post is so so beautiful..i just adore it to bits..jane

A girl after my own heart! Lovely photos, thanks for sharing. There is nothing moire satisfying than hanging our freshly scented clean laundry in the sunshine, it is one of life's simple pleasures which I lost for a long time when working.But like you I have finishing issues! Hate the putting away, and like you I don't iron apart from my husbands shirts or any clothes that just have to be ironed! Everything else gets folded and smoothed and that has to do - life's too short to keep up with it!Having finally aquired a small laundry room in this house I am keen to prettify it but havent yet found the time!Your own laundry looks as pretty as a picture!Have a great day Annette!Gill xx

I am a new subscriber to your blog and this is the first post I've received. I so agree, I love, love, love a good line full of washing!! I love to watch it too it is very relaxing to watch the clothes dancing in the breeze! Bringing in a line full of washing and burying you face in it and taking a deep breath of that clean sunny fragrance, nothing better, well except for putting freshly washed sheets on your bed utter bliss!!

What a nice blogpost Annette. I also love to hang the washing on the line. Next to our new house, I wanted some old, ordinary lines. Not a drying mill,(a rack like lots of people have here outside). And, you know, on the left there's one little hook, where I always hang up the nicest t-shirt! I always hang my t-shirts on coat-hangers, then there's no print on it from the pegs. And it's easy to take them inside in the evening.

Another beautiful post Annette! Crisp white linen sheets on a line, a cool summer breeze and that wonderful smell you just can't bottle. Such a simple joy.I do like the folding, seeing all of my work come to a lovely conclusion. Lots of order and neat angles. Then it becomes a pile left on a chair or table waiting to be put away...then it's a pile being knocked over by boisterous dogs and forced into disarray by loved ones hunting for socks and shirts... Still the joy of that washing line never fades.